Israel deploys more forces to West Bank as op enters 2nd week

JENIN

The Israeli army has deployed more forces to the northern parts of the occupied West Bank, with its deadly raids entering the second week.

The Israeli army pushed military reinforcement into certain areas in Jenin and Tulkarem, amid fire exchange with Palestinian fighters.

It also tightened its blockade on the Jenin refugee camp, pushing in more forces escorted by drones and bulldozers.

According to eyewitnesses, the Israeli forces detained several Palestinians from the Jenin refugee camp, interrogated them, but later released them.

In Tulkarem, the army continued to bulldoze the city's infrastructure, while its soldiers broke into several homes after blowing their gates

Israel last week launched its largest military operation in the northern West Bank in two decades, killing at least 33 people and causing massive destruction.

The U.N. warned that the Israeli army's continued "use of lethal war-like tactics" in the occupied West Bank, noting that humanitarian assessments by aid groups were denied by authorities.

"Today, multiple organizations mobilized by OCHA [Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs] were set to carry out an assessment in Jenin but were denied access by the Israeli authorities," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric warned that "access impediments are impacting the ability to provide meaningful humanitarian response,” citing the OCHA.

"The movement of ambulances and medical teams has been impeded and delayed since the onset of the now-week-long operation.”

Dujarric also stressed that the Israeli army's "lethal war-like tactics," including airstrikes, are leading to "people being killed, injured, displaced or deprived of access to basic services."

"Operations have now resumed in Tulkarm, while continuing in Jenin. The UN has recorded more than two dozen fatalities over the past week, including children," he said.

Jenin Mayor Nidal al-Obaidi also declared the northern West Bank city a “disaster area.”

Al-Obaidi said the Israeli army is working to divide Jenin by bulldozing its streets and infrastructure.

"The Israeli army is continuing to destroy the infrastructure in Jenin and its camp," he added.

Settlers rapidly seizing West Bank land

Meanwhile, BBC reported that the number of illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank has risen sharply in recent years, with at least 196 currently in place and 29 established in 2023 alone.

The outposts, which can be farms, clusters of houses or even groups of caravans, often lack defined boundaries and are illegal under both Israeli and international law.

The BBC noted that organizations with close ties to the Israeli government have provided money and land used to establish new illegal outposts.

Some of these are linked to growing violence against Palestinian communities in the West Bank, the report said.

The Israeli government has been retroactively legalizing some outposts, effectively transforming them into settlements. Last year, the process began for at least 10 outposts, with six others granted full legal status.

The United Nations’ top court recently issued an opinion stating Israel should stop all new settlement activity and evacuate settlers.